Mid-winter update

Hey all. Haven't posted in a while, as things have been pretty hectic between training, work and all the other things that go with it. Just coming to the end of a rest/easy week from a 3-week block of training. It always amazes me how you only start feeling tired when you back off the training - this week I have been constantly knackered and hungry, sleeping for up to 11 hours a night, although as of today i'm pretty much back to normal. I've just been putting in the odd easy session on the bike, along with running and walking to mix it up. It just shows how much fatigue you can unknowingly carry if you don't back of the training, so rest periods are very important. The hardest part is making yourself rest - I tend to be quite guilty of not doing so.

As far as form goes, i'd say i'm in pretty good shape for this time of year. Unfortunately the weather has been fairly awful of late, so I haven't managed to get many decent rides outside - instead I have been confined to the realms of the turbo trainer for on the bike stuff during the week. However, I got a cracking 16hours of training in on New Year's week (250 miles road work, and a few hours on the MTB) while I opted out of the party mode. The mainland weather was a bit iffy, so I decided to stay home and make the most of the crisp, dry winter spell we had. Here are a couple of shots from my travels;





Along with rest, i've been doing a bit of bike servicing this week. The salty wet roads had really taken it's tole on my Giant OCR winter bike. Drivetrain and rear hub was in a bit of a state but all sorted now.

And for the best bit of news, on 7th of Feb i'm heading to the mountains of South Spain for a weeks training at Freeridespain with some fellow XC racers (Gareth Montgomerie and Andy Barlow to name two). Really excited about this, it will be great to train in a decent climate for a change, a much deserved mental break from the dark, wet winter up here. We will be covering some of the "La vuelta de espana" (Tour of Spain) roads where the top pro's race, so it should be a great experience.

That's all for now. I'm just going to head out for some easy miles before our Burns Night Supper . Gie yer a haggis!

Feeling slow after breakfast?

Just found this interesting article;

http://www.theiflife.com/2008/05/21/why-you-shouldnt-eat-breakfastagain/

I've experimented recently with skipping breakfast, going out on the bike and feeding during training as needed (if it's a longer session). My energy levels are WAY higher, head feels clearer and for some reason I don't seem to be craving junk through the day. I don't think this is for everyone, but if you find that you are slow and sluggish all day after your usual early morning breakfast then it might just be worth a shot. The trick is to have a decent, carbohydrate based meal in the evening and post workout to replenish glycogen stores. Not sure how this will work in on race days yet though - i'll have to do a bit of testing.